There are very few people in Kolkata who are as skilled in wielding the axe as Bodhisattwa Ghosh. Popularly known as “Bodhi” in the Kolkata music circuit, this expert guitarist is definitely the person to go to if anyone wishes to get a lowdown on guitar gear. We recently got in touch with Bodhi, and asked him to share his views on guitars, gear and music with us. Speaking about his basic gear, Bodhi introduced us to his guitars and pedal preferences. “I use the Fender 57 Reissue Stratocaster (Limited Edition) and the Fender Highway One Telecaster – both made in the USA. “For effects I use BOSS Single Units, the Fender Bassman Pedal (FBM-1), the Super Overdrive (SD-1), the Blues Driver (BD-2), the Mega…

The Behringer GDI21 is one of the first ever pedals I bought when I decided to shift from multi-effect processors to boutique, effect-dedicated guitar pedals. To start off, the GDI21, like a host of other Behringer pedals, is a clone. It’s a cheaper knock-off of the Sansamp GT-2, and like the GT-2, it’s a guitar amp modeller. But it does so much more. It also acts as a direct recording pre-amp and DI box. Hardware and Features The first thing you’d notice about the pedal is the relatively large number of knobs and switches. The pedal recreates three different guitar amps, with three gain modes and three mic placements, giving you a total of 27 possible configurations. The three amps…

If you have ever considered recording professional quality audio, you have probably been told hundreds of times that the first thing you need is a good “sound card”. You go looking around for these fabulous magic boxes that are supposed to turn you into a professional sound recordist. But, the number of options that one has today are, at a first glance, simply mind-boggling. Every brand out there is vying for your money with large amounts of confusing technical data that seem completely incomprehensible. And you find yourself confused worse than before! Most people give up at this stage and just buy what is popular on online forums and shopping websites, without really understanding what their “sound card” is built…

KORG have really outdone themselves with this one! I think the M50 is a semi-professional artists dream! At the price, nothing can beat the power and functionality of the M50. KORG have always been coming up with products with stage artists and performance artists in mind, and it is in this context that one must evaluate their instruments.

In the day and age of death metal, we often find ourselves staring at tattooed guitarists wielding Super-strats loaded with a combination of Emg pickups and the Floyd Rose Bridge, but what in heaven’s name has happened to the good old Strat? If you walk into a guitar store you will notice people toying with a plethora of guitars: The Ibanez’s, The Schechter’s, The Esps seem to be favored by guitarists these days. If you talk about a good old Strat, people frown. Have we forgotten the value of a Stratocaster? From Guitar-God Hendrix to Clapton to Gilmour, everyone has used the Strat. In Clapton’s case he switched from a Les Paul to a Strat! The Fender Stratocaster has been…

The Vox Big Bad Wah is virtuoso guitarist, Joe Satriani’s, signature wah-wah pedal. It is probably the most unique mass produce wah-wah pedal on the market. Satriani’s tone is massively influenced by Jimi Hendrix, hence the excessive wah-wah use with songs like ‘The Summer Song’ highlighting his signature tone. The Big Bad Wah is the most feature rich pedal on the market with two different wah-wah voicings: a 6db gain boost and an inductor which helps switching between British and American inductor voicings. The Wah 1 setting provides us with the classic crybaby voicing which is ideal for unleashing the inner Hendrix. It has a very balanced sweep and is never muddy. The Wah 2 voicing is Satriani’s signature Wah-Wah…